How to Teach Abstract Art: 3 Fun Art Lesson Ideas

A banner image featuring the phrase ‘How to Teach Abstract Art’ in bold, white font centered on a bright background with abstract designs. On the left, a hand holds up a canvas with yellow and red abstract patterns. In the middle, another canvas displays black and white abstract shapes. On the right, a hand is seen painting geometric abstract forms in red and beige.

Are you looking for abstract art lesson ideas for your secondary classes? You’ve come to the right place! These three abstract art projects are favorites in my classroom. In this blog, I will show you how to teach abstract art in a way that captivates your students while building their compositional skills.

Teaching abstract art can seem daunting, but it’s a fantastic way to explore composition without the pressure of creating realistic drawings. Students can learn essential design principles by focusing on repetition, variation, and balance while expressing their creativity through abstract projects.

In this post, I’ll walk you through 3 simple abstract art lessons that are crowd pleasers in my art room. These projects are designed to be easy to implement, fun for students, and packed with opportunities to explore the key elements of art. They are perfect for middle or high school introduction to art or any beginner art class.

Whether you’re an experienced art teacher or new to teaching abstract art, this guide will help you get started with engaging lessons that will boost your students’ understanding of composition, color, and balance.

Frequently Asked Questions About Teaching Abstract Art

If you’ve ever asked yourself any of these questions, this guide has the answers you need:

How do I teach abstract art to middle or high school students?
What are some engaging abstract art lesson plans for the classroom?
How can I introduce abstract art while teaching the principles of composition?
What’s the best way to explain abstract art to my students?
How can I make abstract art fun and educational at the same time?

This blog post will answer these questions and more. It will also provide you with step-by-step abstract art lessons designed to help students develop their compositional skills using repetition, variation, and balance.

How to Teach Abstract Art in 3 Steps

Lesson 1: Neurographic Art Lesson – Focus on Repetition and Variation

“bstract Designs with Neurographic Art” banner featuring a vibrant blue background with whimsical illustrations of an art palette, scissors, and stars. Below the banner are five panels showcasing colorful abstract neurographic art pieces, each with unique patterns and shapes that intertwine and overlap in a visually stimulating manner. This image could be used to illustrate the concept of ‘how to teach abstract art’ by demonstrating the neurographic technique as an example of abstract artistic expression.

The first abstract art lesson we’ll explore is a favorite in my own secondary art classroom, neurographic art. This technique involves drawing organic, free-flowing lines that intersect and connect. Neurographic art is both meditative and relaxing for students and a powerful way to teach repetition and variation in abstract compositions. I usually start the year off with these lessons because students always feel successful and enjoy the meditative process.

Neurographic art is an ideal way to introduce students to abstract concepts because it’s approachable, allows individual creativity, and encourages them to experiment with repetition and pattern-making. This lesson teaches the foundations of art composition without overwhelming students with rules or techniques, making it a great starting point for anyone learning how to teach abstract art. Their projects are always fantastic, and they look fun displayed together.

Graphic illustration on how to teach abstract art, focusing on ‘Repetition and Variation.’ The left side features a black and white abstract design titled ‘Repetition & Variation’ with an example showing various shapes repeating in size and form but with varied line thickness. The right side explains ‘Repetition’ with four identical green circles, and ‘Variation’ with three blue rectangles of different sizes, describing how repetition uses the same element multiple times to connect design elements, while variation changes size, color, form, or orientation to create unity and add interest.

What You’ll Teach:

Balance: Students will explore how balance can be achieved even in abstract, freeform designs by repeating specific shapes and altering them slightly.
Repetition and Variation: Students will create repeated shapes or patterns from their lines and learn how subtle variations in size, spacing, and angle can create rhythm and movement in the artwork.

CHECK IT OUT: Abstract Neurographic Art Lesson

A vibrant example of abstract art showcasing a variety of patterns and colors, including stripes, dots, and contrasting shapes, which could be used as a visual aid in lessons on how to teach abstract art.

Project Overview: This easy art lesson is designed to introduce students to neurographic art by using organic lines and shapes. Students will explore how balance can be achieved through the repetition and variation of shapes and lines, teaching them the fundamentals of abstract art composition.
Materials: 9 x 12 drawing paper, Pencil, Ruler, Reference Images for inspiration, Sharpie markers (thick and fine points) and Light colored markers (3-4 warm colors, 2-4 cool colors)
Goal: To create a design inspired by neurographic art using repeated organic lines, introducing variation in size and position to explore balance.
Reflection: Encourage students to reflect on how repeating similar shapes or lines helps create balance in their composition. Ask them how the slight changes (variations) in their patterns impacted the final artwork and how it made them feel.

Classroom Tip: Have students draw freeform, organic lines that crisscross the page, creating enclosed shapes. Ask them to identify shapes within the lines and repeat them, varying the size or orientation. Encourage students to think about how these slight changes in repetition affect the overall balance of their artwork.

Lesson 2: Abstract Acrylic Painting Lesson – Focus on Color and Balance

The second lesson is about color theory and balancing colors in abstract compositions. Using acrylic paint, students will experiment with repetition of shapes or forms while introducing color variation to create contrast and balance. I love to begin with abstract painting in my classroom because students can get used to the way paint behaves and grasp color theory and how to create tints and shades without having to worry about realism.

An educational graphic explaining key concepts on how to teach abstract art, focusing on ‘Color and Balance.’ The left side features a palette of vibrant colors with circles showcasing different hues, values, and intensities, labeled ‘Color.’ The right side illustrates the principle of ‘Balance’ with three types of balance in art: symmetrical, asymmetrical, and radial. Each type is exemplified with an image: a butterfly for symmetry, an abstract composition for asymmetry, and a pizza for radial symmetry. Text boxes provide definitions and insights into how these elements contribute to the stability and harmony of artwork. The background is teal with decorative elements like dashed lines and paint splatters adding to the creative theme.

What You’ll Teach:

Color and Value: Students will explore using repeating colors in different values (light and dark tones) to create depth and contrast in their work. This will help them understand how color impacts the overall feel of a piece.
Balance: Students will practice creating balance and harmony in their abstract paintings by carefully placing light and dark colors.

CHECK IT OUT: Abstract Art Acrylic Painting

A tutorial on how to teach abstract art featuring a close-up of a hand holding a small canvas with geometric shapes in shades of red, green, and black, next to a larger canvas with the same design and color scheme.

Project Overview: This acrylic painting lesson uses acrylic paints to explore abstract shapes and color. Students will focus on repeating geometric shapes and using color variation to balance the composition. They will learn how to mix and layer paints to experiment with creating tints and shades of value (light and dark shades) and how this impacts the visual balance of their work.
Materials: Acrylic paint, brushes of various sizes, canvas or heavy paper, palettes for mixing paint, water containers for cleaning brushes.
Goal: Create a design using repeated shapes and explore how the repetition of shapes, paired with variations in color and value, can build balance and visual interest.
Reflection: Ask students to reflect on how using different colors and varying the size or placement of shapes influenced the final composition. How did their choices create or disrupt balance? What emotions or moods were conveyed through their color palette?

Classroom Tip: Ask students to imagine how different arrangements of shapes and colors can evoke different feelings. For example, repeated circular shapes painted with cool colors may create a calm mood, while warm colors can introduce energy or tension. Challenge students to vary their color choices to see how it changes the overall balance of the composition.

Lesson 3: Neurographic Art and Composition Project – Focus on Balance, Color, and Mood

Educational poster titled ‘Composition in ART’ featuring abstract art elements and a person with their face obscured standing in front of an abstract background. The poster includes text such as ‘Fun Project,’ ‘How to Create Good Design,’ and ‘Inside Out ART Teacher,’ highlighting methods on how to teach abstract art effectively.

The final lesson builds on neurography art but focuses on how color affects mood and balance in an abstract composition. Students will use the same freeform line technique but explore how color choices can evoke different emotions and feelings within their work. My students love this lesson because it has they can experiment with various media and techniques to express the moods and ideas that they wish to communicate.

Color psychology that could help on how to teach abstract art

What You’ll Teach:

Balance and Composition: By thinking about how they place color within their design, students will better understand how to create balanced compositions in abstract art.
Mood through Color: Students will learn how different color palettes can set the tone of a piece—bright colors for excitement, cool tones for calmness, or dark shades for mystery. They’ll experiment with how these colors influence the overall mood of their artwork.

CHECK IT OUT: Abstract Neurographic Composition

A hand holding a canvas with an abstract art painting featuring vibrant yellow and orange hues with bold red outlines, demonstrating how to teach abstract art through visual example

Project Overview: In this lesson, students will revisit neurographic art but with a deeper focus on how color impacts mood. They will experiment with the placement of shapes and colors to achieve a sense of balance while exploring how specific colors can influence the emotional tone of the artwork.
Materials: Drawing paper or canvas, pencils, black markers, colored pencils or watercolor paints, mood color chart (optional but helpful).
Goal: Create an abstract composition using neurographic art techniques, with a focus on balancing shapes and colors to express mood.
Reflection: Have students reflect on their choice of colors and how these colors affected the overall balance and mood of their artwork. Ask how they balanced different hues across the composition and whether they noticed any connections between specific colors and emotions.

Classroom Tip: Introduce a color mood chart to help students understand how colors can evoke different emotions. Encourage them to think critically about their color choices when filling in their abstract designs, and ask how the combination of shapes and color helps balance the composition and express different feelings.

Why Teaching Abstract Art is Important

When you teach abstract art to middle or high school students, it isn’t just about creating random patterns and shapes—it’s about helping students develop a strong sense of composition. By focusing on the key principles of repetition, variation, and balance, students will better understand how to create visually pleasing and balanced artwork.

Abstract art allows students to explore these concepts without worrying about making something “realistic.” It removes the pressure of perfection and allows them to focus on compositional skills and the elements of art playfully and engagingly.

Whether teaching younger students or working with older ones, abstract art lessons are a fantastic way to help students develop their artistic skills. These projects are designed to be adaptable to different grade levels and abilities, making them perfect for beginners and more advanced students.

Conclusion

Teaching abstract art is a wonderful way to introduce students to the elements of art in a fun and engaging manner. By emphasizing repetition and variation, utilizing color for balance, and incorporating depth through layering, students will develop a deeper understanding of key art principles. These abstract art lesson plans will assist you in creating exciting and educational projects that your students will enjoy.

Ready to try these simple art projects in your classroom? These step-by-step abstract art lessons will excite your students about exploring abstract design while learning essential compositional skills!